Disturbing Report Of Juvenile Girls Imprisoned In Afghan Jails

Search For Dr Aafia’s Daughter Yields Startling Results -- Daily Times

* International NGOs stumble upon a dozen incarcerated non-Afghan girls * DNA tests fail to turn up missing Mariam
* Pak govt asks Afghan, US authorities to aid search
* Govt trying to ensure Aafia serves out sentence back home

ISLAMABAD: During efforts to trace Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s missing 11-year-old daughter Mariam, international organisations have stumbled upon nearly a dozen juvenile girls who have been languishing in several Afghan jails, sources privy to the search told Daily Times on Tuesday.

Not much is known about these girls, and most are referred to by the numbers allotted to them, just like Dr Aafia was. Sources said that during their visits to some of the jails, they requested the authorities to transfer these girls out of captivity to a safer place because the harsh environment in these prisons might “ruin their lives”.

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My Comment: This is a very disturbing report. Young girls should never be punished because of the transgressions and stupidity of their parents .... or in this case her mother.

While US forces do not run the Afghan prison system (with the exception of a few such as Bagram), they do have influence on the others. If this "Daily Times" report is true .... and it appears that it is .... efforts should be done to correct this gross injustice right away. After all .... it was probably the US forces who gave this young girl (and who knows how many more) to the Afghan authorities when they arrested her mother.

Cases like this do more harm to US Afghan/Pakistan public relations than most stupidities and errant missile strikes. Hell .... even I am steamed.

Hat Tip: Counter Terrorism Blog